An alumna of Clarion West Writer’s Workshop for science fiction and fantasy, I’ve written for markets like The New York Times and Time Out New York. Currently, I write about sci-fi for Blastr. I also edit the humor competition for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and here at Forbes.

The Real Reason 'The Last of Us' Deserves An 8 Out Of 10 (Spoilers)

Warning: This articles describes parts of the end of The Last of Us, including one of the climactic scenes. If you plan to play the game, you have been warned.

When videogame reviewers receive advanced copies of games, they come with the condition that we’re not supposed to reveal details about the ending. So I had to keep certain points to myself as to why I believe that The Last of Us (TLoU), the latest release from Naughty Dog, deserves an 8, not a 9 or the hallowed 10. It’s a good game, and it deserves to be played, but there are flaws. And one flaw is very specific to the ending, which I wasn’t able to reveal. Until now.

Before I get to that, although I enjoy the game’s very slow pace on an intellectual level, in actuality, I found myself annoyed by the slowness of the action. Yes, this is how it happens in real life. But if I wanted to take a cross-country journey on foot as Joel and Ellie do, I’d be hoofing it across Utah right now. When I play a videogame, it’s because I want to have an adventure. That, and a few other issues I mentioned in my review, brought the game down to at most 9.

There are other reasons TLoU doesn’t necessarily earn a 9, because in addition to the slowness of the action, I had some issues with the slowness of the plot as well. But it was the game’s climax, where Joel makes an important decision with world-changing consequences, that clinched my rating of an 8 rather than a 9.

Last chance to turn back if you don’t want spoilers.

During the course of the game, Joel and Ellie make their way west, looking for a group of freedom fighters called the Fireflies. It turns out that Ellie had been bit by a cordyceps-infected enemy, and yet she did not turn into an Infected. Ellie, it seems, is immune to the fungal plague. Or rather, immune to the consequences—she is infected, but for some reason, the fungus has not taken over.

After much traveling, fighting, killing and egads, cannibalism, Ellie and Joel finally find the Fireflies…who immediately capture Ellie and are about to split open her skull and dissect her brain to see exactly how she’s different.

And that’s when Joel steps in.

A word about Joel: In the beginning of the game, we see him in a relationship with a fellow smuggler named Tess, and theirs is about as unsentimental a pairing as I’ve ever seen. You can tell that Joel and Tess were partners who relied on each other. But what they had together…it wasn’t love. It was a brilliantly realized relationship. And it set up the idea that Joel is not someone who shares his feelings with anyone.

Joel and Ellie’s relationship was not an easy one, and only after many months together did he learn to think of “him” as “them.” Even though Ellie’s death and dissection could mean a cure for exactly what plagues humanity, Joel’s decides to rescue her instead.

It made perfect sense to me that Joel would sacrifice the world so she might live. But not the way it happened:

Joel finds Ellie in a dingy operating room. She’s on the table, sedated, surrounded by medical staff, but they haven’t killed her yet. Joel has to stop the doctor from operating. Joel, who has shot, stabbed, and Molotov-ed his way past the heavily-armed guards outside, finds himself held at bay by the head surgeon, wielding a scalpel.

At this point I really wanted Joel to say, “Did you hear the gunfire a moment ago? Step aside.” Or just push past the doctor, perhaps punching him out. But no, the surgeon is immovable, and the room’s arranged so there is no way I can get around various pieces of medical equipment to rescue Ellie.

I tried to move equipment. I even tried to leave to see if I can trigger an alternative “Joel lets them kill her” ending. No dice. I can’t leave.

As time ticks by, the surgeon and nurses stare at me impassively.

A scalpel is not a serious threat. Not to Joel, who’s crossed the country on behalf of the girl on the table. Surely the game isn’t going to make me shoot an unarmed surgeon? How many qualified surgeons are even left in TLoU’s crumbling world? Ah, perhaps I can knock him out?

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Well, having not noticed this issue at all, I still don’t really care, even though it was unnecessary to off the doc. This game deserves only an 8/10 for more serious reasons, which I’ll outline below.

The worst part is actually playing the game, story is first rate. In Uncharted, platforming and puzzles filled the void. In this… I want to blow my brains out everytime I have to look for an innocuous dumpster or palate to climb over a fence or cross some water. It’s tedious. It’s stupid. And I don’t feel the need to do it. I’d fix myself a snack while listening to a few of Elle’s quips, and come back when the hint told me exactly where the useless piece of environment was. Now if they served some other purpose, perhaps ramming it into a baddie or a fungus man, I’d care less. But they served only one purpose: lengthening the game. I wish I could have jammed doors shut with my melee weapon, and as a trade off to shoot through the crack or window of the door as enemies tried to break in–and eventually did based on the durability of my weapon. The dumpsters seem like an epic waste of time that’s only there to force lazy people to look around and gather supplies.

I hate the fact that I’m mostly mowing through nameless bandits. The Elle – David interaction should have been the model for those encounters, put a face on the culprit after me and lessen the fighting through trash mobs. The notes through the sewers was good, but FINISH that story arc for us, let us meet ISH, do something with that creative effort.

Further, there needs to be a death penalty in hard and survivor mode to force the non-casual gamer to look for gear. And more importantly, to make it feel like you’re actually SURVIVING and make you want live through EACH encounter moreso than conserve your gear for the next. The balance of these two is completely backwards. There’s no repercussion for letting Joel get his neck munched into, but if you don’t have a Molotov for one of the huge packs of runners, you’re totally boned. Also, is it not kinda BS that everyone is running around shooting TONS of bullets at me yet I can’t scavenge their bodies for ammo?

Don’t get me wrong, the “game” is excellent when you’re playing part of the game that doesn’t have these issues, i.e., during the Bill portion, but they show up all too frequently everywhere.

So much time was spent on details that could have been done to 80% of where they’re at now and it would have been a gorgeous game, but better (read: more dynamic) to play. Uncharted 3 tread barely on the right side of this line, but this game is unfortunately on the latter. A disappointment when you get passed the excellent story.

Thus, 8/10 is my rating. I take little issue with where you found wrongdoing, however.

James: You made some good points, particularly about Ish, who I would have liked to have met.

“The Elle – David interaction should have been the model for those encounters, put a face on the culprit after me and lessen the fighting through trash mobs.”

The fact that David was both our enemy and our friend (saving both Joel’s life with the antibiotics and–so he claims–Ellie’s life by not letting his comrades eat her) was one of the things that made that segment so compelling. You’re right, that would have been brilliant.

First you say how tedious it is to look for the item you need to move on to the next section, then you say there should be a penalty for casual gamers who don’t want to take the time to look around for gear? Seriously? Are you bi-polar? Every time you had to locate an item or specific area to move on it was because it was based in realistic terms. Just like scrounging for bullets and equipment to help you survive. This is not a fast paced action game, nor was it ever presented as such.

ISH – DLC, I hoped with a lot of these feelings of loose ends there are planned DLCs or sequels/spin-offs that play these things. Like a DLC where you play as ISH or something? That would be really cool.

I think them embedding so much side story in the first game set a template for many other forms of media to pick up on. (Comic books, movies, books, etc.)

If they play their cards right they can create a really cohesive world where sequels or spin-offs don’t just feel like unused assets but intended ones.

I agree with you though, I particularly thought the combat scenes during the first hospital and Tommy’s fortress were completely forced and unnatural. Even the whole part where Ellie ran away on the horse and then randomly got into a hideout with “bad guys.”

Just too many “bad guys” everywhere. it felt like it was more of an excuse for sticking to the formula rather than any gameplay or narrative driven encounters.

It really irked me, About 50% through the game I could always anticipate what was coming next. Exploration scene, fight scene, scary scene, story momentum, repeat.

I love when games and movies break these formulaic tropes. I think TLoU’s biggest issue is that it is struggling with what it wants to be.

There’s a lot of potential and I don’t want to be blinded by the pretty graphics and great story. Because there is A LOT of improvement needed on gameplay, mechanics etc.

But things like you suggested, gameplay elements that could even lend to the story and not take away. THis is getting long, sorry thanks for reading if you did.

Why on earth would you be given a moral choice at this stage of the game? Joel isn’t a ‘good guy’ in any way. He’s a broken man who’s finally found something to fight for in Ellie. He’s not going to suddenly rationalize with a doctor holding a scalpel over a child’s head, just because he’s begging him not to shoot. He’s going to kill him, just like he’s been doing for the entire game! This game takes place in a reality where moral choices don’t really exist anymore, so why would the player be given that option..?

Problem is that you gave it a low score on a issue which looks like for a issue of a personal taste rather than that of game itself & which will not have any influence on the enjoyment on rest of the gamers . You have the right to your opinion but your review was more appropriate as a user review rather than as a review from Forbes ( review not objective enough )

Nope sorry have to wholly disagree with your opinion. You complain about the story not allowing you to change the ending.

That is boring. If all stories would allow you to change the ending to your wants then stories would never be as interesting. The Last of Us isn’t about choice dialogue or choose A or B. This is about Joel. Not the player’s depiction of Joel’s personality. This is about his choices and consequences. And to be honest I prefer to have only one ending for this game, it doesn’t bother me one bit.

You bump the game down because you couldn’t punch the doctor? Come on now, you even complained about shooting his toe and instant death. Why do that? Why not just get on with it and get the girl? Instead you complain about the little things like not being able to move objects.

To be honest, this game is a 10 for me as there aren’t many games with great gameplay and story to back it up. There are faults, but they are minor and I found it so small that they are barely noticeable and it never detracted from my immersion into the game.